I Bloody Hope It Happens

Anyone else laugh when they heard Blues had lost and Sunderland had won the title?

Keane has to be the hottest managerial talent around at the moment, if he can impress in the Prem next season, he's surely the main candidate to replace Sir Alex, another title to his name today too.

Yesterday a good win, superb performance not a long ball tactic anywhere and no Petrov or McCann.

Thought Gardner came of age, Gabby showed again what a potential talent he is, and also how much difference Berger and Laursen could have made over the last few seasons had they been fit, and how wonderfully consistent and talented Gareth Barry has become. His head on and run in the box would have been replayed every 2 minutes had he played for a London club, pure brilliance.

The first major change of the Lerner era opened today at Bodymoor Heath, and what a change that is too. From the dark ages to the future in one fell swoop, congratulations and plaudits Mr Lerner, its a significant plus.

8 games without a defeat is a fantastic performance especially as 3 of the 4 wins were away from home and the last two have included 3 goals something beyond the teams abilities all season, does it mean O'Neill is finally up to speed, seems according to the Sky commentator he now thinks he is, or more accurately he know thinks he will be for next season.

You have to say since the injury to Carew, the suspension to McCann the poor form of Young forced his hand somewhat, the change of style and move of Gabby back to the middle has made all the difference, promising performances have become decent results.

A good end to a, for me, disappointing season on the pitch. I still feel we could have done better, a more positive outlook might have given us the 3 or 4 wins instead of draws needed to gain European qualification.

Still as the full gate yesterday and the opening of the new Bodymoor Heath facility today to say nothing of the above stats show, this nearly completed season has seen a huge sea change from days of yoreThe outlook can only be positive, Mr Lerner has made it so. Gone are the days of grumbling about lack of funds, about poor communication, about old fashioned values, things are different, no that's too simple a word.

Things are changed beyond my wildest expectations, nearly on a par with my finest Villa dreams and its all thanks to Mr Lerner and his cohorts.

Signs are O'Neill is nearly up to speed, I still doubt his inbuilt tactics, but his PR is beyond belief and he seems able and willing to learn.

I seriously question his scouting ability, in comparison to other Premiership clubs, its Celtic or bust so far. Friends at Celtic questioned the prices he paid and the contracts he gave out to older players, Celtic are still paying the cost today, and although Young has like Gabby huge potential 10.5 million, no way, could we sell Gabby for 2 maybe 5 million, I doubt it, 10 I think not.

8.5 million for a player who has flopped this season is no clear recommendation either but on the plus side Maloney was a snip, and Carew fits the O'Neill plan more than Baros did, although I maintain he's not a 20 goal a season man and we really need one, but so does half of the Premiership.

A war chest has been recently vaunted, the media has started to be convinced, more good PR, more exciting prospects and potential, what more could we want.

Well yesterday showed us all what we want, a repeat of that Rotterdam moment. Its some time off, mind and I'm still not convinced O'Neill is the man to achieve it, but I'm convinced Mr Lerner is. In many ways next season is the most important one in our recent history.

The major changes are ongoing, the signs on the pitch look promising, the manager looks to have finally got going, next season will start full of promises and genuine optimism for the sort of success we as Villa fans have been deprived of for most of Ellis' time.

I bloody hope it happens.

By AVFC48

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never doubt the manager, especially untill there is reason to do so. everything he has said so far this season has turned out to be 100% true, and if, by the end of the summer, he says we are ready to challenge for europe, thats where we will finish.
ashley young is a special talent, when he bangs in 10 goals from the wing next season and is up for young prem player of the year 9mill will be a snip

Why the hell are you mentioning Blues in the article? BAD beginning, small mindedness. Dude, you can write well enough but you aren't half a harbinger of 'fickleness'. MON isn't this, MON isn't that....Can't you see the bigger picture? Can you not enjoy the day? We were doomed to relegation and as clubs like Blackburn and West Ham have found out over the seasons - there is no magical recipe or amount of cash to MAKE success happen. It takes time and no amount of patience. Your comments regarding YOUNG are ill advised - every English player is overpriced. Henry is the only striker to score 20 Premiership goals or more in a season and he can't even get the Ballon D'Or over old Goofy at Barca. You doubt MON tactics but forget he had a break and is as much sussing out the oppositions talents as his own teams. Those ex-celtic players have kept us up along with Barry and others so stop having a dig at them too. What's with all the sniping about Celtic and paying the cost as well? WHO cares. Everybody is entitled to their views but you are some way off the mark buddy. Cheer up, smile, relax a little.

This season has all been about finding our feet and reaffirming ourselves as a full blooded Premiership team both on and off the field.
Before this season we were seen as a bit of a joke side due to both our manager and our chairman. At certain times we could not even hold our heads up when engaging the scum, but how things can change in 12 months. All true supporters should be loyal to their clubs whether you are a Boston United fan or a Man Utd fan and should never take their position and standing for granted.
Aston Villa are now in a position to take a giant leap forward. This should not be taken lightly or for granted. We have been lucky, deservedly so in my opinion but lucky all the same. We have found a benefactor who it seems is not in it for the cash and even more comforting, not in it for a hopeful quick turnaround. I could go on all day about how the new set up is laying such important groundwork and looking after us, the fans, but that has been covered numerous times.
For me the last two weeks have seen me leave all scepticism behind. It started with a convincing interview with the General, who i am now certain is not just telling us what we want to hear. And of course Saturday, which for me was joyous as well as triumphant and emotional.
If there was a word for me that has summed up this season it would be "Action".
It really does speak louder than words. So for all pessimists take a step back and look how far we have come in so short a time.
Letís be positive, letís back the team and manager, implore your friends to buy a season ticket. But please don't be fickle and expect the odd hiccup. This is football after all.

I hope we are not relying on MONs scouting ability - surely he has enough to do and there is a team behind him doing the scouting!!!!! Maybe, just maybe, he had to go with players he knew to begin with as our scouting system wasn't up to the job? Coaching the first team won't give him much time to look at players all over Europe, and if there was a poor team supporting him then I would expect him to go with those players he has worked with before as a stop gap......Also, Young was being chased by a few clubs, and Watford did not want to sell - it is simple supply and demand. If the big 4 all came in for Gabby his price would rocket.

What are you looking for? Overnight success? Stop moaning. Reading this article, it seems like you are DESPERATE to find something negative to say...... the vast majority of postings on this site are based on fact - this one has it's foundations in misery.... judging by the opening line I assume that the writer is one of those that spends more time and energy singing about how much we hate the neanderthols than actually getting behind the Villa.

well put Koolbill i second that. I think MON has done a good job so far, at the start of the season i thought we were going to get relegated. MON has Barry playing out of his skin in a position that other managers had tried to play him in, but failed to get anything from him. The team is playing the best football now, than they have played for years. Doing it with only about 4 players that where playing at the start of the season, let alone last season. only 4 of the players that started on the weekend had more than 20 games under belt before the start of the season, most of them had none, most of them still have less than 20 or 30 games. So there has been a lot of transition with an inexperianced bunch of players. It is going to take any manager time to figure out players best positions, especially young players that haven't played premiership football. so looking at those facts it makes me think that MON has done a pretty good job, i dont know what you expected from MON, AVFC48 but i think you need to lighten up a bit or you will never be happy.

How us MON not the person to take us to European glory? He took Celtic to the UEFA final (after beating Barc i think!?) with a Celtic team that we will overshadow by miles within the next few months. Keep the faith, MON is the man, i can think of no other British/European manager i would rather have. He has something special about him and all the plaudits love him.

Seems like a resounding thumbs up then. Nice. I've never seen so many happy Villa fans at New Street station. We love you Martin we do...we love you Martin we do...I am so excited about next season. Might be a good time for a rumours thread on players and sponsors after next match.

Things are defo looking up. The end of the season has been a success and I firmly believe we can carry this forward onwards and upwards in to the future. The Nucleus of the team is young enough to learn and grow. MON is as good if not better than anyone who would have took this job at the start of the season and we need to back his decisions and purchases.

I dont think this season has been a dissapointment on the pitch.Our performances have been far better than last season.We suffered one of the worst injury crisis suffered by any side at xmas and that caused our season to fall apart as far as euro qualification went.One of the most optimistic periods in the villains history.BRING IT ON.

One request - to Mr Fear and the great new owners. Please get some Villa magazines on the shelves. From time to time I travel (at works expense) around the country by train. I would find it absolutely excellent if I could pop into WHSmiths at New Street station and pick up a Villa magazine...I wait with bated breath (did I just say that?!). P.S. This would surely up the money in the coffers too.

Is the fact he's manager of the month down to p.r? Is the fact he's been courted by many big clubs before coming to us down to p.r.?
Is the fact that most England fans wanted him as the national team manager down to p.r.? This season was always going to be transitional and I for one am amazed at just how much has been achieved and the manner in which it has been done. And to answer your question, no I didn't laugh at Blues yesterday because I couldn't care less about them. I support Villa and am only interested in us and our results.

I think to put things into a true perspective we should compare how we feel now with how we felt this time last year. Last year we had Ellis and O'Leary. I think the vast majority of us felt disillusioned, depressed, no hope of any decent signings and resigned to a very likely relegation. Our performances showed no fight, no tactics, no leadership.
This summer we now have MON and, more importantly Randy. I am optimistic that we will be signing some good quality players. The team have showed improvement and more fight this season. Yes, we still have some way to go but we are building for long term success. I believe we can certainly get a UEFA Cup spot next season, especially if 7th is good enough. The way things are going we could even sneak a UEFA spot next season via the Fair Play League!
This time last year I was dreading the new season. Now, I cannot wait for next season to start!!
UTV SOTC

AVFC48 Tough crowd, but I agree with most of the feedback, look up not down. Young is Young do you think Wolcott is worth what the gunners paid for him? But its the future remember Rooneys price I think we all thought they over paid. For me this has been a great season culminating in a fantastic finsh, I remember reading at the start of the season everyone thought Mid table this year Europe next. I think we can see that is coming to fruition. Carew swap was inspired, Maloney was already coming at the end of the season so a million to Celtic for 3 months work was fair and Petrov is getting better. The Villa can now look for big signings because the work all season long not just the 1st or last month. MON took over 2 weeks before the start of the season; this is the rise of a fallen giant. UTV

Give Young a chance, he is still under 21 and West Ham had offered the same amount in Jan for him so he must be rated. I see quotes that he does that sort of thing (the goal) in training all the time. Another thing, Gabby is in the top 14 players in the opta index so he must be worth at least 5 mill, again he is under 21.
I know that we have seen false dawns before but this is not one.
Have patience and faith and AVFC48

Bloody Hell seems few people these days read what was said just what they want to see.
As I said [quote]The major changes are ongoing, the signs on the pitch look promising, the manager looks to have finally got going, next season will start full of promises and genuine optimism for the sort of success we as Villa fans have been deprived of for most of Ellis' time.
I bloody hope it happens.[/quote]
maybe I should have added, [quote]and the blind optimists will get all their theories truly justified[/quote] ;)

AVFC48: Quote this: GO AWAY SON AND SUPPORT LEEDS - THEY ARE WELL IN THE DOLDRUMS AT THEM MOMENT AND YOU'D FIT RIGHT IN. Quote: What is your problem? You penned a massive article and did our managers legs proper. You should be ashamed. We all read and we all saw. Seems you are outnumbered and on the defensive. You must be a bluenose in disguise. Bye bye Mr FICKLE.

Koolbill, avfc48, like everyone else is entitled to his opinion, he very much isn't a blue nose in disguise and is welcome on the site, same as all members. If AVFC48 isn't convinced by MON, then why is that a problem? He'll either prove AVFC totally wrong and AVFC will be as happy about that as anyone, or.... no, won't think about the or!

Fear is right, no matter how much AVFC48's opinion differs from your own he's entitled to it. If he's wrong then it's better for Villa, if he's right, then by all means he can come back here are say we were all bull******** him. However, and I can only speak on behalf of myself, as a manager and as a person, I have the highest regard and respect for MON. With football increasingly becoming a game for the moneymen, we are lucky to have someone like MON in charge of our team, you only have to look at Sam 'I'm taking a break till Newcastle show up' Allardyce to realise that. Anyone who gives up their job to look after a sick family member deserves credit, and for me he is one of the few people that I look up to and feel inspired by in life.
Time will tell whether O'Neill can bring back the glory days to Villa park, he was my first choice to replace O'Leary, and at the time, I said Ellis should have walked to MON's house to personally beg him for the job, i've got my wish, and I certainly hope that he will be succesful at the club. My advice to anyone who wishes to know more would be to read Neil Lennon's autobiography to appreciate how the footballing world perceives O'Neill.

Surely the fact that we now play as a team, are playing attractive attacking football and that he has gotten more consistent performances from players who last year looked jaded and disinterested, as well as being the first Villa manager to win Manager of the Month for 6 years, show that he is the real deal?

Also the Carew deal. Big John wasn't from Celtic and was off the radar in terms of being mentioned as a transfer target for any premiership teams during the window. To bring him in and offload Baros at the same time was a masterstroke and surely indicates a level of scouting to be aware of the player and his availability. Further proof of MON's class is the way he handled the Berger situation. I'm sorry AVFC48 I totally disagree with your views on the manager and if he doesn't bring us success then my brother's daughter is an ape!!

Some people are never satisfied. Villa were accused of not investing in players and now that there is money we are accused of paying over the odds for players. You have to remember Young was bought in January, a notoriously bad time to purchase players. I believe MON so believes in Young's future contribution that this out weighed the price tag. You are intitled to your opinion but surely after 25 years of doom and gloom it's time for a bit of hope and excitement.

No matter how MON does with Villa, some great managers struggles with great player at great clubs clubs. For instance, Jose Morinho won the champions league with porto with no money, but cant do the same with chelsea with all the money in the world. And i understand that success is not garunteed with MON. But at this moment in time i don't think that i would want anyother manager in the world leading Villa, based on MON's past success and how he has done this year, and i think others feel similar. So i, and surely the rest of the disgruntled posters, just find it amazing that anyone can complain about MON and the way things are going at the moment.

There seems to be an amazing amount of passion towards MON and that`s great to see,you only have to doubt/suggest a fault in his armour ( as per article ) and you get growled at!! AVFC48 does fall on the side of caution and with the end of seasons run maybe that is out of place at the present time but he does have some valid points of view so chill out !! I`ve never sang a song about those dirty b@stards yet i didn`t want them winning a trophy???

Lets get some things straight here, luvvies, I don't think or have ever said O'Neill is a paedophile or worse, I have never attacked his character. As it happens I have always said he was the ideal manager for Villa during the takeover and with his experience a superb choice to instigate the changes.Early on I questioned how up to speed he was with the present day Premiership. Now it seems season nearly over, he agrees he wasn't.
As to Carew, if you were as keen a fan as me you'd know O'Neill has repeatedly said he has been trailing him from his days at Celtic and tried in vain to buy him several times, hence the Celtic connection.
Yes managers do struggle and I have suggested why I think O'Neill has and over the season highlighted how I have felt his tactics, team selection and such have shown so.
I suggested half his problem come January would be he didn't have a proper scouting network in place especially in Europe and was existing on old knowledge from days at Celtic, which was at least 2 seasons out of date. Funnily enough within a few weeks there was a huge PR to suggest Ian Storie-Moore was now involved in forming a European arm to his set up;)
As I said in the original post and in the reiteration above, the end of season performances with not a long ball tactic in site, was beginning to show how he and his coaches were getting there and the prospect for the future were looking very exciting.
Just because I make suggestions to why I feel O'Neill hasn't got it right, doesn't mean I don't think he will.
Those who know me well, know I will say, as I did when G Taylor returned and took over from Gregory, when I think a manager has no hope of ever achieving anything for Villa.
In O'Neill's case I have never said that. In O'Neill's case I have always thought he was the ideal man for the Villa, he has shown he can adopt and quickly, and that allied to his experience and his charm augurs well for us.
Young is a huge talent and we are lucky he's playing for us, but 10.5 million remains too high a price and a bad indication for future purchases, as in my view does the 8.5 paid for Petrov. Both give out the wrong message to clubs whose players we are looking to buy.Ask any Chelsea supporter, and Randy won't commit Abramovich levels of cash, that's a certainty.
Things are on the up and at long last on the field of play too, but remember this, the man most of you luvvies vilified to his exit, took over a terrible, near relegated side and took them to 6th and just missed out on Europe and he only spent 4 million in total.
O'Neill is a far more experienced manager and has a far more benevolent owner backing him, so has much more of a chance to succeed.
I'm confident he will.

avfc48 Although I do not agree with you, all have a right to their point of view. With regard to the money paid by players, I do not think we can call them over prices in todays market. I will trust in the judgement of MON and the business men of the club not a ranting bitter man who moans for the sake of it. PS: Are you Malcon from Wales?

Firstly I agree with the third post and why even mention the Blues? This is a Villa site and I like many other Villa fans are fed up of Villa fans who spend more time talking and singing about Birmingham than about the Villa. It has got to the stage where half the songs sung at VP are anti Blues rather than supporting the Villa. This is hardly supporting the Villa team on the pitch but showing how bigoted certain sections of the Villa fans are. Onto your other points, MON was dealt a very poor hand when he took over at Villa and took on a team that was tipped to be relegated. MON had a week to buy a player, once the takeover was finalised, and even then Ellis nearly kyboshed that, but in that short time he went for a player who he knew and thought could improve the team. Who let who down on that? The player let the manager down, not the manager letting the fans down. MON had been out of football for a year and out of the Premiership for 6 years before joining the Villa and he was the first to admit he was probably out of touch, but week in week out said that Villa would find their level when we were flying high. Then, was it not for a huge injury crisis at Christmas and a fixture list that would have most teams struggling we may not have gone into free fall. Then comes the January transfer window, a time when the big clubs are not willing to sell their best players and a time when the best players do not want to move from winning teams to mid table teams, so what was MON supposed to do? When has there ever been a big name transfer in the January transfer window? Instead Randy Lerner put his hand in his own pocket and spent £9.5m of his own money, not the Clubs, on a talented youngster. A player everyone on this site said they wanted to see come to the Villa. As for the style of football, again MON had to play the type of football the squad of players he inherited would adapt too. Not pretty but it saved us from relegation and put us in a position better than this stage last year. Overall compared to last season we are higher in the table, have more points, won more games, lost less games, conceded less goals, kept more clean sheets. For me that is improvement and the springboard for next year. If we go backwards from here then that is the time to question the judgement and integrity of MON. Until that happens can we really sit at our PCís and criticise him?

O.K AVFC48, you've given your opinion and provoked a debate so fair play. I'm interested as to what you feel would be a successful season next year, as the one point I do agree with is that it is the most important season we have had for some time. What progress do you think should be made on the pitch and at what point would you consider MON to be a success at Villa Park?

Virtually nothing is guaranteed in this life, particularly when it comes to a mere game such as football, but if it doesn't happen avfc48, then it certainly wont be through a lack of effort by the new regime and/or MON.

Listen here luvvies?! Got your goat up have we? You are entitled to you opinion and we're entitled to think you're a know it all. Just accept that you can't have it both ways after having a unfounder pop. Listen to what LIAMO and HOSS THE VILLAIN and learn a little humility or audition for the Apprentice so we can see you put your foot in it there as well. We all knew Young was expensive but that is no reason to be negative and ruin the good feeling after a great win. Are you unable to comment on the positive as it takes better writing skill than the lazy approach - writing about the negative....Up the Villa by the way and well done on writing a 'provocative' article.

O'Neill is already a success, can't you see it, he achieved his target, he has it looks eventually got himself and his coaching team up to speed and has been man enough to admit it.
Next season he will have to progress us on. How far depends on what money is available and how good he really is as a manager. He remains old school, he remains not that successful,in English football, but he has a golden chance to make himself as good as some fans say he is.
Everything is seemingly in place he has no room for excuses, he will have a full summer, he will have plenty of time to bed in players, even Petrov will have to perform so anything below European qualification will be failure, a decent run in the cups would be a bonus too.

It has been a good debate but I believe that avfc48 to be suffering from schizophrenia. He states that the days of 'grumbling about a lack of funds' have gone. But then grumbles because we have paid out £7 million for Young. Lets also get it correct about the fee. It was just over £7 million, with add ons if succesful, taking it to £9.35 million. If Villa start competing at the business end of the table this will seem like chicken feed and the players values will rocket. If Carrick is worth £14 million, how much are Barry, Agbonlahor and Young worth now. Barry is better than Carrick. Gabi is miles better than Lennon. Young is going to be a star. This is forgetting Gardner who M'On believes will go on to be one of the best midfielders in the country. I understand the need to put a cap on over expectation, equally putting on pressure does not help. Comments like anything but European qualification is failure are uncalled for, in the same way as saying we will be challenging for the title. Things are on the up. I would say that I have never felt so optimistic as a Villa supporter but some things are out of a clubs control. Look at this season, drawn away to Manure and Cheski in the cups. All we can control is the number of people buying season tickets. Everything is geared to taking our club forward and everybody should now give the players, management and superb new board our full backing and the perfect excuse to start the redevelopment of the ground now.

Well said Voiceoftheholte. I'm sorry AVFC48 but,intentional or not, the way you write about the manager carries a hint of negativity.
Yes we can all see he's already a success hence the amount of postings to your original article supporting him. Don't get me wrong,I don't think he's a messiah, he's not even a very naughty boy, but I know for a fact he's a top class manager, because he has a proven track record of success everywhere he has been, and as already stated by others there is no other manager I would rather have at Villa. The board have already stated several times that there is a five year plan in place culminating in the target of competeing in the Champions League. To turn around 20+ years of stagnation will take more than one season and in this day and age
£30 million spent on new players will probably allow us to compete with the Evertons, Boltons and Spurs of this world who are ahead of us in terms of investment in playing squads. That said if we don't achieve Europe next season, although being disappointed, as long as tangible progress has been made i.e. competing at the right end of the table, I will still be happy and support the manager.
Having seen our performances over the last couple of months, with his new signings settling, I think the style of play and adventurous nature of our attacking football bodes very well for our future.

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